


under the influence

by starkly



Series: you don't have to do this alone [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Confessions, F/M, M/M, Multi, Truth Spells
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 09:20:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13384809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkly/pseuds/starkly
Summary: Natasha stops with her hand on the handle to Rhodey’s room. “Apparently she psychically lasso-of-truth’d him. He told me my hair was nice but not as nice as yours,” she says to Pepper, grinning, and opens the door.





	under the influence

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for NaNoWriMo 2017 and posted at [dailyironfamily](http://dailyironfamily.tumblr.com/post/167256855585/day-07-truth-serum) on tumblr. This fic was proofread before being posted here but is otherwise unchanged.
> 
> Day seven: truth serum/truth spell. Set vaguely post-AoU, with Pepper/Tony established and future Pepper/Tony/Rhodey.

Tony glares at the doctor barring him from continuing down the hall, already lowkey irritated and highkey worried ever since he got the call that Rhodey was in the hospital following a routine Avengers mission and nobody would tell him exactly what happened.

“What do you mean I can’t go in? I bankroll basically everything here. This is my team―that’s my Rhodey.”

“I’m very sorry, Mr. Stark,” the doctor says, clearly looking frayed from having to deal with him. “It’s hospital policy that―”

“Is he hurt? Can’t you at least tell me that?”

“Colonel Rhodes is unhurt, but―”

“Then what’s the hold up!” Tony cries, throwing his hands up in frustration.

The doctor frowns. “Mr. Stark, Colonel Rhodes is the one who asked me to stop you from entering.”

That catches Tony off guard, and he just stares at him for a moment, confused. “Why?”

“I believe his words were that there’s ‘no way in hell he’s letting you see him in this condition.’”

“What the hell happened!” Tony exclaims, just as Natasha and Pepper come around the corner. “Oh thank God, Nat, what the fuck is going on?”

“I’ll take it from here, Doc,” Natasha says to the doctor, giving him a nod. The doctor hesitates, but then he nods back and walks away.

Pepper moves to Tony’s side, taking his hand and giving him a reassuring kiss on the cheek. “So what’s going on? Is it bad? All I got was a call from Tony freaking out.”

Tony was not freaking out, thanks, but he keeps his mouth shut so Natasha can answer.

“James is fine,” she assures them. “Physically, at least. The guy we were going after had a couple Inhumans working for him. One of them whammied James pretty hard.”

“Whammied?” Tony repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“Sam’s word.” She sighs, then motions for the two of them to follow her. “He’s going to kill me for letting you in, but, it’s kind of funny.”

Pepper looks less than amused. “ _Funny_?”

Natasha stops with her hand on the handle to Rhodey’s room. “Apparently she psychically lasso-of-truth’d him. He told me my hair was nice but not as nice as yours,” she says to Pepper, grinning, and opens the door.

Rhodey’s sitting on a hospital bed in his street clothes, the room otherwise empty. He looks up when the door opens, then jumps off the bed, looking horrified.

“Natasha, you traitor,” he says, looking around the room like he’d like to make a hasty getaway, but there’s only one door and they’re standing in it.

Natasha shrugs. “I had to bring them in before Tony attacked a doctor.”

“I thought you were dead!” Tony, profoundly relieved, shoots across the room to give Rhodey a hug.

Rhodey rather reluctantly hugs him back, whispering against Tony’s shoulder, “You smell good.”

Tony laughs, giving him another squeeze and then stepping back. Pepper comes over to join them, Natasha slipping out of the room and closing the door behind her.

“You seriously can only tell the truth right now?” he asks, looking skeptical. “What happens if you try to lie?”

“It looks that way,” Rhodey says, sitting back down on the edge of the bed and puts his head in his hands. “I’ve tried but I literally can’t lie.”

“How long is this supposed to last?” Pepper asks.

“The doctors don’t know. My brainwaves are all messed up or something, they hope it’ll just reset after a while.”

“Okay, so tell me,” Tony says eagerly, “my senior year, that one party with what’s-her-name, Nancy―”

“Tony!” Pepper elbows him in the side. “Be nice.”

“I didn’t sleep with Nancy,” Rhodey answers anyway, and Tony silently cheers because he totally knew it. “See, this is why I didn’t want you here. Well, part of the reason. You’re just going to embarrass me.”

Tony shrugs. “Well, when do I not, honeybear.”

“When you’re being sincere. I like it when you’re sincere,” Rhodey confesses, then groans and covers his mouth with his hand again.

“It Jim wants us to go, we should go,” Pepper suggests softly, her hand on Tony’s arm.

“I don’t really want you to go,” Rhodey corrects her, and Tony grins, gesturing at him.

“See? He doesn’t want us to go. We should keep him company until this wears off.” He grabs one of the chairs from the corner and drags it over, sitting down in it. Pepper sighs but does the same, pulling over her own chair.

“At least don’t spend the whole time asking him embarrassing questions,” she says, sitting down next to them. “You wouldn’t like it if you were the one who couldn’t lie and he kept asking you stuff.”

“Actually I would definitely do that if this situation was reversed,” Rhodey tells her without thinking, then sighs deeply. “You guys drive me nuts, you know?”

Tony pauses at that, uncertain. If Rhodey actually secretly hated him, he would have said something by now, right? “Like, in a good way?”

“Like in a ‘I’m set in my ways until one of you comes along and messes it all up’ kind of way.”

Pepper frowns, leaning forward. “But you said you didn’t want us to leave.”

“Because I always want you with me!” Rhodey snaps, then immediately shuts his mouth, hopping off the bed again and putting some distance between them. “This is a terrible idea. You should leave.”

Tony and Pepper share a bewildered look. “You’re kind of sending mixed signals here, pal.”

“We’ll leave until you’re better,” Pepper says, standing back up. “Okay?”

“No, I’m not okay!” Rhodey rubs his temples with both hands.

Looking concerned, Pepper steps closer, reaching for him. “Jim? Should we call a doctor?”

“I don’t need a doctor,” Rhodey replies, eyes wide as he tries to stop whatever’s coming next and fails. “I need you.”

It’s so quiet in the room Tony thinks they could hear a pin drop. Pepper stands between the two men, torn between giving Rhodey space and closing the gap. Then Rhodey repeats quietly,

“I need both of you.”

She steps the rest of the way across the room, pulling Rhodey into a hug. Tony stays where he is, mind racing with a thousand questions and no answers. It seemed wrong to ask them now, when Rhodey couldn’t do anything but answer.

“We’re here for you,” Pepper tells Rhodey, rubbing a hand across his back reassuringly. “Whatever you need.”

Rhodey relaxes into the hug for a moment, but quickly enough he’s pulling away, tense again. “You don’t understand. I can’t.”

“Can’t what?”

“Pepper―” Tony says quickly, rising to his feet in a hurry, trying to cut her off. Pepper obviously isn’t seeing what they’re dancing around here, they can’t force him to confess like this. It’s not fair.

But he’s clearly too late, because Rhodey looks sadly at the both of them and admits, “I love you guys. Am in love with you. Both of you. I don’t want to ruin what you have so I never said anything.”

Pepper’s frozen, staring at Rhodey, who looks like he wishes the Hulk would burst into the room and just smash him into the ground. Tony stands there like an idiot, hand still outstretched.

“Well, we have always had one of those ‘I’d totally sleep with you haha I’m just kidding except not if you’re actually into it’ friendships,” Tony blurts out at last, dropping his hand back to his side.

“I’m definitely not kidding,” Rhodey agrees morosely, turning away from the two of them.

Pepper looks back at Tony, searching. Then she steps closer to Rhodey, drawing his attention back to them. “This is a discussion better had when one of us isn’t mind-whammied or whatever you want to call it. Until then, we can go, or we can stay.”

Rhodey doesn’t even hesitate. “Please stay.”

Pepper gives him a smile, then takes his hand and brings him back to the bed, setting him down gently. Tony sits back down in his chair, slightly dazed. The three of them are silent for another moment, then Pepper says,

“So I hear you like my hair better than Natasha’s.”

Rhodey groans again, grabbing the pillow from the bed and apparently trying to smother himself with it. Tony laughs, finally relaxing. They have a lot to discuss for sure, but for now it’s good knowing they’re all together, whatever happens.


End file.
